tom lantos. i am sorry i have arrived too late to be able to meet him, to be able to take his hands and to say thank you for what you did for us, thank you for being the man you are. i never had the chance to meet him, but i shall always remember him with gratitude. i stand here now, strong in the knowledge that i am among friends who will be with us as we continue with our talks of building a nation that offers peace and prosperity and basic human rights protected by the rule of law to all who dwell within its realm. this has been made possible under reform measures, our presidents are very young but rapidly maturing legislature and the vast majority of our people are committed to democratic values and to enable us to fulfill our potential and take our rightful place in the modern world. i am particularly encouraged by the presence of the minister who has been leading peace talks in our country and who reinforces my faith in the future of reform and reconciliation. there will be difficulties in

i associate myself with his remarks in praise of our former colleague chairman tom lantos and his family's efforts on behalf of this occasion today. it is appropriate to honor also the many burmese democracy supporters, many from california, senator feinstein, who are here with us today. we take this opportunity to remember those who have suffered so much, including the burmese students, national league of democracy party members, and other supporters who fought for democracy in 1988. members of the burmese parliament in exile who have worked tirelessly from abroad. the buddhist monks who courageously rose up in the saffron revolution in 2007, and be internally displaced and ethnic minorities who have endured so much poverty and conflict. today, as we bestow the congressional gold medal on aung san suu kyi, we honor them all with this ceremony in this cabinet. -- in the rotunda of the united states capitol. it does not seem that long ago that women leaders of congress gathered to honor aung san suu kyi on her 50th birthday. she could not be with us on monday, but secretary of state -- that

speaker, i'm proud to serve as the co-chair of the tom lantos human rights commission. we constantly and appropriately criticize other countries for their lack of transparency and adherence to the rule of law. the continued existence of guantanamo undermines our understanding around the worrell. the president has said repeatedly that he wants to close guantanamo. there is broad bipartisan support among national security experts for him to do so. congress just needs to get out of the way. mr. speaker, while i support a great deal of this bill, pearblely programs and services for our veterans -- especially programs and services for our veterans and military, i cannot support a bill this large when we were in the middle of negotiations on the so-called fiscal cliff. the pentagon is more willing than this congress to look at defense budget -- at the defense budget and make significant reductions. this bill continues to show that when it comes to defense spending, congress is part of the problem, not part of the solution. and, mr. speaker, i'd like to ask unanimous consent t

as my friend and our former colleague, tom lantos, said, "the veneer of civilization is paper thin. we are its guardians and we can never rest." for some time, i've been concerned about the trajectory of developments in hungary, where the scope and nature of a systematic changes introduced after april 2010 have been the focus of considerable international attention. at the end of november, hungary was back in the headlines when mart november zendowski, a member of the notorious extremist party yovik and also vice chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, suggested that hungarian jews are a threat to hungary's national security. and those in government and parliament should be registered. the ink was barely dry on letters proceed toasting -- protesting those comments when another hungarian member of parliament, bolis lenhart, participated in a public democrat strais last week when he burned -- demonstration last week when he burned an israeli flag. the fact is, these are only the latest scandals to erupt in budapest over the course of this year. in april, just before pa

dold, part of the tom lantos congressional human rights committee, and the author of this measure, whom we will miss greatly. thank you, mr. dold. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dold: thank you, mr. speaker. i certainly want to thank the chairwoman for her leadership and for her friendship and her work on human rights abuses. certainly want to thank the ranking member and my friend from new york as well. mr. speaker, i've talked at length in this chamber about the human rights abuses taking place inside the country of iran. in response to this, we have promoted democracy and human rights through a variety of legislative tools. and we have championed measures like the lautenberg amendment, to offer a lifeline to those individuals who seek nothing more than the freedom they cannot find in their home country. today, i'm proud to stand here with my colleagues and encourage others to support house resolution 134, officially condemning the government of iran for its stance sponsor persecution of its baha'i religious minority and for the continued violation of human